Spokane Valley Summer Theatre

The award-winning Spokane Valley Summer Theatre (SVST) and educational Conservatory (for students in grades 2-12), was founded in 2015 by Executive Artistic Director Yvonne A.K. Johnson. SVST’s inaugural season took place in the summer of 2016 and the annual budget has increased 312% in nine years. By the end of the company’s 2023 season, all box office records had been broken, with audience sizes upwards of 500 people per performance. In 2023, 54% of patrons and Conservatory students came from outside the cities of Spokane and Spokane Valley, and 39% came from out of state (8-year company average is 38% and 22% respectively). 

SVST has served as a launchpad since its inception for many to enter the arts and entertainment industry, led by an experienced professional staff, board and advisory council with industry experience and unmatched determination. SVST serves a market niche in Washington/Idaho/Montana as the lone locally produced professional theatrical company and educational Conservatory along the I-90 Corridor (serving a population of over 1M), and has a demonstrated, proven track record of artistic and financial success year after year. 

Yvonne Johnson was named a 2021 “Difference Maker” by the Spokesman-Review, and one of the prestigious 2022 “Women in Business” from Spokane Coeur d’Alene Living Magazine and was personally awarded the Washington State Governor’s Arts & Heritage award for leadership from Gov. Jay Inslee in 2022. SVST’s inaugural season took place in the summer of 2016 and the company has grown exponentially in the years since. Under Johnson’s leadership, SVST’s annual operating budget has more than tripled in nine years and increased 120% from 2022 to 2023. In addition, season ticket sales increased a dramatic 64% from 2022 to 2023, and single ticket sales increased 14%. 2023 was the best-selling and best attended season for the 8th year in a row, and Grease was the best attended production (besting 2022 Disney’s Newsies). The best attended single production of all time occurred at Home for the Holidays: A Big Band Christmas on Dec. 17, 2023, with over 550+ in attendance. SVST added 4,400+ new patrons in 2023, up 122% from 2022. 

Direct Public Support increased 38% from 2022 to 2023.  Sponsorships increased 70%, and government granting (all levels) increased 26%. $108,000 in gent funding has been committed for 2024 (before the year began) which is 67% of the total 2023 grant funding. But additional support is always needed and welcomed!

SVST’s productions have won the PNW Inlander ‘Best Of’ award for ‘Best Play or Musical’ in the entire region for the last three years (through 2023). By the end of the company’s 2022 season, all box office records had been broken, with audience sizes upwards of 500 people per performance. Little House on the Prairie: The Musical (Regional Premiere 2021) won the Washington State Governor’s Arts & Heritage Luminary Award (GAHA) from the Department of Commerce and Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA), which recognizes organizations that used the arts and humanities to shine a light for their communities during the darkness of the pandemic. Yvonne A.K. Johnson won the same award for Community Leadership in 2022 and was personally awarded by Governor Jay Inslee. Director of Education and Production Manager, Collin Pittmann was awarded the GAHA Young Leader in 2023, and Communications and Marketing Director Melody Chang was the winner of the 2024 YWCA Woman of Achievement in Arts and Culture.

Historically, through its mainstage productions and educational Conservatory (for students in grades 2-12), SVST leadership has mentored youth into careers extending as far as Broadway, Off-Broadway, national tours, leading professional regional theatres, London’s West End, and even TV (network and streaming platforms) and film. Artists, musicians, technicians and staff earn professional credits for performance resumes, a benefit not available anywhere else in the region. 

SVST aims to provide artistic, educational, cultural and social programs that provide a forum for creative and personal expression by and for residents of the Inland Northwest Region, further enhancing the lives of local residents and visitors, growing the economy and utilizing the dedication of both staff and community volunteers to create productions of high artistic merit affordable and accessible to the local community.